Hey people~ I'm working on my first cosplay, for which I am cosplaying Gaara in his shippuden form. I have made the main part of his outift, but I'm not exactly sure how to make the vest part of his outfit. I also have a question about fabric. I want to make it fully functional and be able to hold the gourd that I am making. The only fabric that I can think of to make it strong enough and look good would be pleather, but it is expensive and I have little sewing experience and I'm afraid that I will mess up and ruin the fabric. To sum it all up, I would like tips on making Gaara's shippuden vest and suggestions on a fabric that would be sturdy enough to support a home made gourd and still look good.

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might be going to Gen Con Indy~
my first convention ever and i can't wait...
Probably go as Deep Dive Riku from KH2 if I finish it in time~

If you make a mockup with $1/yard muslin or other cheap fabric, to make sure that it fits you right, then it's worth investing in the pleather/vinyl to make it look good. The nice thing about vinyl is that the finished piece won't require much sewing; it won't fray if you don't hem it or finish the edges. I don't know what your gourd is made out of, or how heavy it is, but if you're concerned about it being weight-bearing look for upholstry-weight vinyl. Garment-weight pleather's usually on a spandex base, and the rubber surface can separate from the fabric backing if it's under stress. You want the heavy fleece-backed stuff.

Thanks a lot. My gourd is heavy, but not super heavy. It is made out of a medium size exersize ball and a beach ball duct taped together, and covered in a couple layers of paper mache. I'll check it out when I go to the fabric store this weekend and see what the other person who's working on it with me thinks about it.

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might be going to Gen Con Indy~
my first convention ever and i can't wait...
Probably go as Deep Dive Riku from KH2 if I finish it in time~

I now have another problem- Construction of the vest. I have the basic vest peices planned out, but I need some help on costructing the straps that circle around his waist at the bottom of the vest. Are the connected to the vest straps? to the cloak? I just need basicly complete help on how to make the vest -_-"

__________________
might be going to Gen Con Indy~
my first convention ever and i can't wait...
Probably go as Deep Dive Riku from KH2 if I finish it in time~

Righto. I took ages figuring out how to attach my gourd to my vest. In the end I ended up sewing it on, but eventually I'll make some hidden buckles.

Anyway, for starters, you don't really need a really sturdy fabric. I used really thin cotton, and stuck in a plastic table placemat for support. Cost like 2 bucks. The trick is to make the belts of the vest that are encircling your rib cage hold the weight of the gourd, and not try to make your shoulder hold all the weight. If this helps any I can take some pictures of how I did mine for you.

If you're asking about the two belts at his hips, I just made those separately and attached them to each other, they aren't attached to the other belts.